Ruahei Demant

BIOGRAPHY

Black Fern #196

"We're not even a town. There is a shop, with a petrol pump, some food and a landline. We don't have Wi-Fi reception and the nearest pub is an hour away."

This is how Ruahei Demant describes Omaio, the Bay of Plenty settlement where she was born and raised.

Remarkably, Ruahei (in 2018) and her younger sister Kiritapu (in 2015) became only the fifth pair of Black Ferns sisters after the Richards, Broughton, Itunu and Lavea sisters. They are the first Māori sisters to play for the Black Ferns.

Despite a horror run of injuries, Ruahei has established herself as a starting first five-eighth in the national team, following her debut in a 31-11 victory against Australia in Sydney.

One of six siblings, Ruahei played football whilst growing up and attending Te Reo Māori-medium kōhanga reo (preschool) and kura kaupapa (school).

Marae and community were a big part of her upbringing. Ruahei was selected in representative football sides, but travel soon became an overwhelming burden; it was not uncommon to embark on four-hour journeys – one-way – to meet sporting obligations.

When Ruahei was 12 her father, a commercial crayfisherman, sold his quota and the Demant’s moved to Auckland. Initially, life was not easy at Mahurangi College:

“We had a spelling book to learn English words. We would write them down phonetically, but they still looked wrong. It was tough adjusting to this big Pākehā world.

“I started playing rugby at Mahurangi, and I loved it! One year we had fifteen players, and then we had ten, and then we didn’t have a team, so I went to play for College Rifles. I remember Dad drove Kiritapu and me to our first practice and we saw these huge Tongan props approaching the car. We begged Dad to take us home, but he refused.”

Dad’s judgement was vindicated in 2013 when Ruahei was selected for Auckland at the tender age of 17. However, she played only ten minutes against Taranaki as a rotten injury curse set in.

“In 2013 I ruptured my left knee and got my first ACL reconstruction. The following season I got some good minutes and we won the NPC again. In 2015 I played a Sevens tournament in Mount Manganui a week before nationals and I did my right ACL. I came back again, and we won the NPC again. I played the first sevens tournament of the summer and did my first ACL again.”

After an arduous 18-month recovery Demant returned to rugby and in 2018 was called up to the Black Ferns; ironically after incumbent first five Victoria Subritzky-Nafatali injured her ACL. Demant has started eleven consecutive tests in the past two years.

In July 2019 she was part of the Super Series-winning Black Ferns side, a campaign that included a 28-13 victory over England, the first meeting since the 2017 World Cup final. In August, her quickly-growing stature was underlined by a 40-metre individual try against Australia in Perth.

“I’ve become more comfortable with experience, able to express myself more and bring my own flair to the game rather than following a structured plan all the time.

“Playing with Kendra Cocksedge is a big advantage. She loves to bring the chat and has a whole lot of experience. Her directions are clear and her pass so fast. I can stand a meter wider and know the ball will get to me which provides a whole lot more options.”

In 2019 she played for the prestigious Barbarians team in their 29-15 win against Wales in Cardiff. She has scored 22 tries in 46 games for Auckland. In 2021 she played first-five for the Blues in the first women's Super Rugby match against the Chiefs at Eden Park.

She proudly hails from Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, Te Whakatōhea and Ngāti Awa; the same iwi as All Black brothers Rieko and Akira Ioane, and Victoria Cross recipient Willie Apiata.

In 2010 she won the coveted Dame Whina Cooper Trophy at the annual Ngā Manu Kōrero National Secondary School Speech Contest. She has earned a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Auckland and would like to become a sports lawyer.

Profile by Adam Julian